American Futball

I wanted to focus on why soccer isn't as popular in America as it is overseas.  It's safe to say that soccer is a universal sport, but just a footnote in America.

Looking at the basics, there aren't many rules in soccer and the one's in place are easy to learn.  The sport emphasizes equality among players, highlights nonviolence, and have referees making sure these rules are enforced.  Overall, there are two teams each trying to score in the others goal.  On that note, soccer is simple to play.  Kids growing up in poverty can play barefoot with anything that resembles a ball.  If you can find a flat piece of land, soccer is free.


Overseas, soccer is a part of everyday life.  If there is a game, no matter what time, everything is dropped to get to the nearest television to support their team.  This is where tradition plays a major roll.  Fans feel what the players are feeling emotionally.  They grew up with their parents watching the game and it's something they will pass on to their children.


Religion also plays a major roll in what team you root for.  For example, the Celtic team represents the Catholic religion, so if you are not Catholic, you're simply not a fan.  The same idea applies to Barcelona and Real Madrid.  Both teams are from Spain, but represent different identities.  Real Madrid represents the royal family, while Barcelona represents Catalonia, one of the Kingdoms of Spain.



The last point I want to touch upon is when you look at other countries, soccer is the number 1 sport across the board.  In America, though, football, basketball, baseball and hockey all have a higher priority.  These are the sports that make up the culture and identity of America.  Not only do these sports take higher priority over soccer, but an even bigger factor is television.  Here in America, television revolves around commercials and advertisements, so when football, basketball, baseball and hockey are being televised, there are plenty of breaks in the game where commercials fill in the blanks.  Soccer, though, has one break at halftime, where revenue can be lost.

So for those of you out there reading this, leave me some feedback!  Let me know what you think about this topic whether you agree, disagree or have any other input!

Soccer fashion

So I decided to change gears a little and focus on new soccer apparel.  Most athletes can agree that it really isn't about what you're wearing, but more importantly being out on the field playing your game.  Most athletes, though, are looking for the newest, up to date cleats for their upcoming season.

Each sport has different kinds of athletes.  Soccer has ones who are flashy, subtle, classic and those who are looking for the most popular cleat.  With that said, here's a look into the newest cleats....

The first set of soccer athletes I want to focus on are the classic, subtle players.  You can never go wrong with cleats like this.  These full kangaroo leather cleats, priced at $250, have the "ultimate in fit, comfort and ball feel."

 Now we have the flashy soccer player that must have the newest look.  The one who wants to stand out not only with their play, but also the shoes on their feet.  Priced at $399.99, these Nike Flywires have "the technology incorporated into the synthetic upper reduces weight, adjusts to the foot, provides support and increases ball feel."








Lastly, the player looking for a great save!  Adidas is known infamously for their Predators, and with these $130 cleats, designed for the Champions League, they're perfect.  "The world's top boot is back with the perfect combination of champion looks and elite performance. Every single element is designed to improve performance."

All of these cleats are available at http://www.soccer.com/, but the best thing about the site is they offer the same looking cleat at different prices.  Cleats priced at $400 also have the same look as those priced at $200.  Cleats can be found as cheap as $30.  It's perfect for any budget!

I'm back!

So it's been a while since I blogged, but I am officially back!

As of recent, due to the NFL lockout, Chad Ochocinco tried out for Kansas Cities MLS soccer team.  After a five day try out, he actually made the reserve team.  I am speechless to say the least.  Yes he has the speed, but soccer the skills are lacking, seeing as he hasn't played since he was in high school.

Dave Borchardt, the clubs spokesman, said, "He realized he's not good enough to make the team and play in games.  This way, he gets to be part of the soccer locker room, which is a dream come true."

Now we all know soccer in America isn't as popular or nearly at the level as it is overseas, but I feel like it's becoming a joke.  Don't get me wrong, I would love for this to work out in Chad's favor, but lets face it, he is an American Football player, not a soccer player.  Check out this interview with clips of him playing.

Who knows what's next for Chad's soccer career.  Hopefully it works out as a back up plan, but stick around to find out!

Final Blog Post

So for our last blog, comparing two classmates blogs, I decided to focus on week 9's survey blogs.  My group and I researched surveys and did a power point presentation, so I wanted to see how they learned from it.

The first blog I looked at was Sacha's, that focused on survey in PR Non-profit.  Currently, I am taking PR Non-profit and this is something that we haven't gone over yet.  Sasha brings up a good question, "How can non-profits, then, who are not as successful improve their skills so they can better help the community?"  A survey has been conducted over the last six of seven years, which is something I wouldn't think to do, but now know how essential it is.

The second blog I looked at was Kelley McDonough's.  I also focused on week 9's survey post, but it intrigued me because she raised the question, "I wonder if they would be the best method to research and analyze ethics."  Ethics is a large part of the pr world, so how exactly do you measure "ethics"?  She goes on to say she doesn't think this is the best method because people wouldn't answer the questions honestly and I have to agree with her.  Like she says, surveys are important, but not if they are used incorrectly.

Before taking this class, I had never blogged or ever really followed a blog.  It has enhanced my knowledge and with technology advancing, I know this is something that will help me in the pr world.

Experimenting in Soccer

Experiments are done all around us everyday, but most of us don't even realize it.  With sports, teams experiment all the time to find different techniques or better ways to get a win.  In soccer, the same applies.

The 2010 World Cup was one of the most anticipated and watched games during the summer.  Cristiano Ronaldo, who played on the Portugal National Team is known for his crazy shots that almost always end up in the back of the net.  The ball used this year called the Jabulani, was given to the teams to practice with before the World Cup started and that's when the experimentation started.

Cristiano is also known for his free kicks, so this is where he experimented.  He was able to hit the ball in a certain spot and in the air the ball would flatten out and at the last minute pop back to its original shape and bend into the back of the net.  The goalie would essentially be tricked, thinking the ball was going one way and go another way.  So throughout 2010, he perfected this technique by experimentation.

This is the final product.

Internet makes surveys go round

No matter how hard you try, surveys are inevitable.  Whether you just got finished talking to Dell Support or online shopping, one of the last steps in these conversations relates to the consumer filling out a survey.  How necessary are they though?

The last few weeks, my group has been researching different types of surveys, in order to teach the class, and I myself learned how important survey's are in any industry.

Survey Monkey is one of the many survey sites, where anyone can make a survey on any topic and send it to whoever they want.  The beauty of the internet is that you can reach anyone.  If you were to hand them out in person, your demographics would be limited, but with the internet, you can send survey's to other countries and it's virtually free.

With technology advancing, the way we keep up with surveys is also important.  That's why the internet is one of the most essential channels through which surveys travel.

Qualitative Research on the QUWS Team!

Qualitative research is done through observation, focus groups, and interviews, but this week in class we focused mainly on observation.  Most of the time, people don't even know they are a part of a study and that's the case with the QU Women's Soccer team.

One of our assistant coaches works at Yale and he conducts many different methods of research whether it is surveying us to see how healthy we eat and if that effects our play, or observing how many times in a game a specific player wins a head ball or their passing rate throughout the game.

For the first few games of the season, non of the players knew we were being observed until he mentioned it.  The whole purpose was to look at your own percentages and see if by being aware of it, can you improve as a player.

Another form of observation we practice is actually watching all 90 minutes of our games.  This improves our play drastically because we can actually see what we're doing wrong and improve it in practice.

Observation, however, cannot solely depended on for consistent research results.  Many different methods of Qualitative research must be present in order to have these reliable results.